Technology
Discover facts about technology. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Technology
Ultraviolet light solidifies tooth resin instantly
Modern cavity fillings are just light-activated plastic. The dentist packs your drilled tooth with a soft, pliable composite resin containing…
Discover more
Why gummy bears are coated in tree wax
Straight out of the mold, gummy candies are dull and remarkably sticky. To prevent them from fusing into a massive gelatinous clump in the bag, they are…
Discover more
How brewed coffee becomes instant crystals
That sad jar of instant granules starts its life as massive vats of genuinely brewed coffee. The liquid is frozen into massive slabs, shattered into icy…
Discover more
Lead aprons block ionizing medical radiation
When the dentist leaves the room to zap your teeth, they drape you in a hilariously heavy vest. Lead is utilized because its atomic density is so absurdly…
Discover more
Why seedless watermelons can't reproduce
Nature did not invent the convenient fruit; chemists did. By treating seedlings with colchicine, scientists double the plant's chromosomes. When crossed with…
Discover more
Yeast can make the proteins found in real milk
Cows are officially obsolete in the lactose department. Precision fermentation programs genetically modified yeast to spit out exact replicas of whey and…
Discover more
STACKY FOR IPHONEA bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.
Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
Why observatories fire lasers into the sky
Starlight gets hopelessly blurry when passing through Earth's turbulent atmosphere. To compensate, astronomers fire massive, bright lasers straight up into…
Discover more
The soy-root molecule that makes vegan burgers “bleed”
To make plants bleed like real meat, scientists isolated leghemoglobin, an iron-rich molecule found in the root nodules of soy plants. By mass-producing it…
Discover more
Dry cleaning is still washing your clothes
The term is a complete lie. Your delicate garments are not treated with air; they are aggressively tumbled in a liquid petroleum solvent, typically…
Discover more
What really makes a match ignite
The safety match is a masterpiece of delayed combustion. The red phosphorus on the striking box is perfectly stable, but the friction of the strike instantly…
Discover more
Fish ammonia feeds plants in aquaponic systems
Rather than utilizing chemical fertilizers, smart indoor farms let fish do the heavy lifting. The fish live in tanks and constantly excrete toxic ammonia.…
Discover more
The telescopes that spin liquid mercury
Grinding giant glass mirrors is expensive and tedious, so physicists found a terrifying shortcut. By pouring a massive vat of toxic liquid mercury and…
Discover more
The black mold behind soda's citrus tang
That refreshing, citrusy tang in your favorite soft drink does not come from a pristine lemon grove. It is mass-produced by feeding sugar to Aspergillus…
Discover more
Epinephrine injections instantly constrict vessels
During a severe allergic reaction, your blood pressure plummets to fatal levels. An auto-injector stabs a massive, synthetic dose of pure adrenaline straight…
Discover more
Enzymes convert corn starch into high fructose syrup
Corn naturally contains zero fructose. To manufacture the world's cheapest sweetener, factories take thick, bland corn starch and subject it to a grueling…
Discover more
What imitation crab is really made of
That cheap, delicious sushi roll contains absolutely zero actual crustacean. It is made from surimi, a paste created by washing, aggressively grinding, and…
Discover more
Why fake strawberry flavor takes 40 compounds
Mother Nature makes strawberries look effortless, but chemists sweat for it. Replicating that exact fruity tang requires a precise concoction of around forty…
Discover more
Why mouthwash contains alcohol
The sharp burn in your daily gargle is not the feeling of bacteria dying, it is mostly a solvent at work. Active ingredients like menthol and eucalyptol…
Discover more
Aeroponics grows plants with their roots in midair
Growing plants in water is apparently too basic. Aeroponic farms suspend the roots of crops completely in mid-air within a dark chamber. Specialized nozzles…
Discover more
Scientists made ordinary plants glow
Forget a reading lamp, biologists are shoving bioluminescent genes from fireflies and mushrooms into common house plants. The result is a leafy green that…
Discover more
Why chemotherapy also attacks healthy cells
Cancer drugs do not know how to specifically target a tumor; they just hate anything that grows quickly. The toxic compounds flood your body and slaughter any…
Discover more
Zinc oxide physically blocks solar radiation
Unlike chemical sunblocks that absorb UV rays, zinc oxide acts like a microscopic suit of armor. It sits directly on top of your skin and physically bounces…
Discover more
Genetically modified crops survive toxic herbicides
Many engineered seeds are not designed to yield better nutrients; they are explicitly designed to survive biological warfare. Scientists modify soybeans and…
Discover more
How cherries become those unnaturally red toppings
That unnaturally vibrant sundae topping starts as a normal, pale cherry. It is soaked in a harsh brine of calcium chloride and sulfur dioxide, stripping it of…
Discover more